Healthcare Transformation Awards

In 2015, The Alliance^®Board of Directors established the Healthcare Transformation Awards program to recognize people and/or organizations that demonstrated alignment with The Alliance mission of moving health care forward by controlling costs, improving quality, and engaging individuals in their health.

Today, the awards have shifted to align with our High-Value Health Care strategy and are announced at the The Alliance Fall Symposium & Annual Meeting.

Healthcare Transformation Awards Criteria

Healthcare Transformation Award recipients must demonstrate their commitment to promoting effective change in the health care marketplace based on one or more of the following criteria:

High-Value Health Care: Is taking action to significantly improve the quality and/or affordability of health care
Transparency: Is achieving significant gains in the availability and/or use of meaningful information to compare price and quality
Payment Reform: Is developing, testing, or implementing value-based payment approaches to encourage high-quality, affordable care
Provider Network Design: Is developing, testing, or implementing approaches to make high-value health care providers easily accessible to employees
Benefit Plan Design: Is developing, testing, or implementing approaches to support the appropriate use of high-value providers and treatments by consumers

Healthcare Transformation Award Winners 2022

Two Healthcare Transformation Awards were given to individuals or organizations that made significant contributions to transforming health care in their communities when The Alliance held its 32nd Annual Fall Symposium and Business Meeting on Oct. 25, 2022.

Gloria Sachdev, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Gloria Sachdev was awarded a Healthcare Transformation Award for her work with the Employers’ Forum of Indiana and her advocacy for hospital price and quality transparency, value-based health benefit & payment strategies, and health policy reform. Gloria currently serves as President, CEO, and Board Chair of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana. She has been involved in multiple initiatives including an electronic prescription initiative which greatly increased the volume of e-prescriptions in Indiana. Gloria engaged RAND Corporation to improve hospital price transparency in the state of Indiana and eventually across the U.S. She was also instrumental in creating the Sage Transparency tool, a first-of-its-kind tool that brings together public and proprietary data on hospital pricing and quality. Gloria also serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers Coalition and as Board Vice Chair for Hoosiers for Affordable Healthcare.

Walker Forge, Inc., Clintonville, WI

Walker Forge was awarded a Healthcare Transformation Award for changing the way their employees access and receive care, increasing quality, and reducing cost for both their employees and the company. Walker Forge is a technological leader in the manufacture of custom engineered steel forgings for customers in the energy, transportation, agriculture, rail, military, and construction markets. The company has done some incredible things since they decided to take charge of their employees' health benefits and become self-funded five years ago, including creating an employee clinic where employees and their covered family members can receive free care. Through self-funding, Walker Forge has reduced their overall health care spend and increased the value of care for their employees. Walker Forge was also named 2021 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year (large company division).

2021

Unfortunately, The Alliance chose to suspend the Health Transformation Awards for 2021.

2020

2019

NOVO Health
Promega Corporation
Marilyn Bartlett and the Montana State Employee Health Plan

2018

2017

Gundersen Health System
John Nygren, Wisconsin State Representative
Open Notes, Catherine DesRoches
Miniature Precision Components
Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ)

2016

Beaver Dam Community Hospital
The Leapfrog Group
Natasha Plank-Ottum, CEO of Plank Enterprises
Valerie Shields, Stoughton, Wis.
Webcrafters Inc.

2015

Dianne Kiehl, “Driver of Meaningful Change”, Executive Director, The Business Health Care Group
QualityPath Designated Hospitals and Doctors
SMARTCare
- Dr. Thomas Lewandowski
- Dr. Anthony DeFranco
- Dr. Tim Bartholow